Duggar buries Aces with grand slam

Reno, Nevada - The Sacramento River Cats (45-43) used a dominant pitching performance from Conner Menez and a grand slam from Steven Duggar to defeat the Reno Aces (39-49) 5-1 on Saturday night in the Biggest Little City.
Conner Menez flashed ace-like stuff Saturday night, twirling six shutout innings en route to his first Triple-A win of 2019. The lefty breezed through the first five innings, and was able to escape a jam in the six inning when the Aces loaded the bases with one out. Menez proceeded to strike out Yasmany Tomás for his eighth strikeout of the night then coaxed a lineout to end the threat.
Sacramento only managed six hits on the night but made them count, tagging the Reno pitching staff for five runs. Zach Green doubled home Joey Rickard in the second inning to get the River Cats an early 1-0 lead, but the big hit came off the bat of Steven Duggar, who smacked the second grand slam of his career in the seventh to give the River Cats some late inning insurance.
Lefty Andrew Suárez (4-6, 5.54) will aim to give the River Cats the division lead headed into the All-star break, making his 13th start of the season. Reno will turn to right-hander Braden Shipley (2-3,7.46) to close the series. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. (PT). Catch all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, on Money 105.5 FM.
Additional Notes

• Both the San Francisco Giants and Sacramento River Cats rode grand slams to victory on Saturday night, as former River Cats outfielder Austin Slater belted a pinch hit grand slam for the Giants in their win 8-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, while Steven Duggar smacked his to key the win over the Reno Aces.
• The River Cats got some help from the Tacoma Rainiers, who took game one of the double header with Fresno. The result allowed the River Cats to regain a share of the division lead. If Sacramento wins tomorrow they will head into the All-Star break in sole possession of first place for the first time since 2014 when the River Cats held a 4.5 game lead.

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The Sacramento River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the three-time World Champion -San Francisco Giants. The team plays at Raley Field in West Sacramento, consistently voted one of the top ballparks in America. Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the River Cats' 20th season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). The only place to guarantee official River Cats tickets is at www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.